Noticias del Laboratorio

July 22, 2013

The hardest part about teaching young learners skills like grouping, adding, and decomposing numbers is giving them an opportunity to discover the "tricks" on their own. Since adults know and see how numbers go together, the instinct is to teach them what we know. It is often difficult to step back and let the learning happen. One of my favorite ways to encourage this process is by starting with the answer.

For our youngest learners, this can be done with simple storytelling. At the beginning of the year, my Kindergarten class often "starts with the answer," and I always try to incorporate a student's interest into the story. For example, Tracy loves alpacas, so I tell the class the answer is 6 alpacas. I then ask the class, “What is the problem?” The kids use their fingers or manipulatives to work out the answer to my question. These problems encourage higher order thinking and, more importantly, allow for many different answers. The kids then share their answers and hear how other kids are thinking about math. Kids teaching kids is always powerful.

A free app I use frequently for this activity is Educreations, a virtual whiteboard that allows you to record both the whiteboard screen and audio as the kids work out the problem. A low-tech option, called build that number, uses playing cards and a “magic number.” PBS KIDS also has some great online math games that give kids practice building to an answer in addition. Curious George Train Station is for younger kids and Cyberchase Spaceship Power-Up gives older kids practice decomposing the number 10.

Regardless of whether your child is just starting to learn about addition or is an addition expert, I hope "starting with the answer" will be a fun way to encourage higher order thinking and learning through discovery this summer.